Best comparison for this kid is Patrick Kane. His hands are amazing I saw him play against the Screaming Eagles on Friday night and every time he went to dangle an opposing player he was successful, literally. He scored an amazing goal to open the game and was a legitimate threat every time he stepped onto the ice. He's incredibly patient with the puck and finds seams to make tape to tape passes constantly. In this particular game, he looked like the superior player when comparing him to MacKinnon. The only thing MacKinnon seems to have on him is size and strength.

What's the highest somebody could realistically see Drouin go in the draft?

Realistically top 5.

Potentially 1st. Not saying this will happen but he was almost as good if not as good as MacKinnon in the run the Mooseheads made last playoffs. Those playoffs are a reason why some people have MacKinnon 1st over Jones. He has also looked better than MacKinnon so far this season. Pat Kane and Daniel Briere were good comparisons, but I don't think he has the speed those players do.

Potentially 1st. Not saying this will happen but he was almost as good if not as good as MacKinnon in the run the Mooseheads made last playoffs. Those playoffs are a reason why some people have MacKinnon 1st over Jones. He has also looked better than MacKinnon so far this season. Pat Kane and Daniel Briere were good comparisons, but I don't think he has the speed those players do.

I don't like the Kane and Brière comparison since Drouin is much less of a sniper than the other two. The biggest similarity between Drouin and those two, is their ability to be evasive and dangle through traffic despite their size. Other than that, Drouin plays a more cerebral game than Kane, pretty similar to a Giroux. That is why Giroux would be my comparison for him.

Giroux is fair though... If this kid played D like even abit like Dats he would be a carbon copy...

Yeah Giroux/Datsyuk are very good comparisons... shifty, good speed, great IQ, can score and set up goals equally as pretty.

Those guys weren`t top 10 picks though, so it will be interesting to see how far up Drouin might go. And lets keep in mind all this "top 5" stuff only really started after 2 good games, so its a bit early to get THIS optimistic.

Probably a good portion, myself and Ihavenocreativity have seen him play through most of his minor hockey. Saw quite a few mooseheads game last year too, and a lot of posters commentating on him are from Halifax and are moosehead fans

Actually, looking through this thread, it seems that most of the people who are posting about him have either watched him in Halifax, or saw him play Midget.
Kind of a rarity around here, people actually talking based on first hand observations.

Very different, but very complimentary style to Mackinnon as well.
One of the guys covering the game for Eastlink TV put it best, though I can't claim this is an exact quote, it was something along the lines of:

'You can't get caught looking at the puck, you have to play the body against Drouin, because he's going to do what he wants with the puck."

A lot of us in Halifax had the privilege of watching both guys like MacKinnon, Drouin, Duclair, Lazar etc play at the Canada Winter Games February 2011 when they were only 15 years old. It was a wicked time to have that tournament, as all the top Canadian players in the 2013 draft class were in it.

I don't like the Kane and Brière comparison since Drouin is much less of a sniper than the other two. The biggest similarity between Drouin and those two, is their ability to be evasive and dangle through traffic despite their size. Other than that, Drouin plays a more cerebral game than Kane, pretty similar to a Giroux. That is why Giroux would be my comparison for him.

I like the Giroux comparison more than the Kane/Briere one, too, and for the same reasons. Don't know if he'll ever prove as effective as Giroux, but the Kane/Briere calibre is definitely possible.

I like the Giroux comparison more than the Kane/Briere one, too, and for the same reasons. Don't know if he'll ever prove as effective as Giroux, but the Kane/Briere calibre is definitely possible.

Giroux's had as many great season's as Patrick Kane, one. Giroux is a more physical player and has the superior two-way game.. but in terms of creating offense, there's not much difference between the two.

Anyways, Drouin is quickly becoming one of my favourite prospects for the upcoming draft. The Hawks should have no chance at him, unless the lockout goes the whole year.. but from what I've seen of him he just looks so impressive. Whoever grabs him could be getting an excellent player, without question.

Giroux is fair though... If this kid played D like even abit like Dats he would be a carbon copy...

That's why he wears #27 too, after Kovalev

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigdirty

Actually, looking through this thread, it seems that most of the people who are posting about him have either watched him in Halifax, or saw him play Midget.Kind of a rarity around here, people actually talking based on first hand observations.

Very different, but very complimentary style to Mackinnon as well.
One of the guys covering the game for Eastlink TV put it best, though I can't claim this is an exact quote, it was something along the lines of:

'You can't get caught looking at the puck, you have to play the body against Drouin, because he's going to do what he wants with the puck."

This made me laugh and it really shouldn't since that's what it always should be.

I wouldn't say he's timid. MacKinnon never shies away from physicality and is a tank... But Drouin will hit and showed some of that tonight. He somehow impresses me more every game. Buzz around the rink is how good this guys gotten.... Just unreal hands and control of the play

I wouldn't say he's timid. MacKinnon never shies away from physicality and is a tank... But Drouin will hit and showed some of that tonight. He somehow impresses me more every game. Buzz around the rink is how good this guys gotten.... Just unreal hands and control of the play

Well, there was one play tonight that was brutal to watch, a guy stood near the centre faceoff dot with the puck Drouin skated by him with a little poke check and allowed him to skate in. I'm not saying he's completely scared of hitting and getting hit, but Mackinnon definitely has him in that department.

Well, there was one play tonight that was brutal to watch, a guy stood near the centre faceoff dot with the puck Drouin skated by him with a little poke check and allowed him to skate in. I'm not saying he's completely scared of hitting and getting hit, but Mackinnon definitely has him in that department.